'Lost' Book Club: 'A Wrinkle in Time'

By
Liz Kelly

We decided to let you, the readers, vote for our next "Lost" Book Club selection. And despite a strong showing by "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," the overwhelming winner was... "A Wrinkle in Time," which makes Madeleine L'Engle's beloved fantasy our official choice for December.

Originally published in 1962, this tale was a tad controversial in its day. Although many of its characters had comforting names (e.g. Mrs. Whatsit), critics viewed all those references to crystal balls and witches as heretical and accused the author of challenging Christian beliefs.

Still, despite the mostly forgotten static it generated, "A Wrinkle in Time" remains one of the all-time best-loved works of young adult science fiction. The writing is fluid without being flowery, the characters are likable and it's a quick read (we love that, especially during the busy holiday season).

Why It Matters to 'Lost': Of all the books we've read thus far, "A Wrinkle in Time" comes closest to capturing the parallels between a non-linear timeline and one of Jen's pet "Lost" themes: the question of faith.

And perhaps it's no surprise that this book entered the "Lost" orbit during season one's "Deus Ex Machina," an episode in which John Locke's faith is tested by a then-unknown quantity on the other side of an unopened hatch door, as well as (via flashback) his kidney-stealing father. Consider, too, that "Wrinkle" features the presence of some particularly gifted kids, a missing father figure and an amorphous evil creature called the Black Thing and, well, you've got a book that sounds pretty darned "Lost"-ish to us.

Why You Should Read It: It's a cool book and, if you like it, there are a few other novels that follow the same characters on other adventures. Plus, unlike Stephen Hawking's inscrutable and irritating explanations of time travel, L'Engle is able to incorporate chronological shifts throughout her work without causing one's head to explode. On a more poignant note, the author passed away this September at age 88. That makes this an even timelier occasion to renew our appreciation for her work.

Join us on Wednesday, Dec. 19, to discuss "A Wrinkle in Time" and how it relates to the "Lost" experience. Every fifth chatter gets a free candy cane! (Okay, not really. But please, come discuss the book with us anyway.)